To expect this NOT to happen when viewing a house for sale..

What kind of landlord would put a tenant with cancer through that? And what kind of estate agent would agree to it? Its totally unacceptable in my book and we are landlords.He knows the tenant is ill and her family wont leave her on her own yet he parades 20 people through her HOME .Shocking,I'd be letting both the the agent and the landlord know exactly what I think of them ,in no uncertain terms.

That's appalling. When we arranged mass viewing the rules ( as set by the agent) were one family at a time, and taken round each room by the agent.

That sounds awful and if I was the tenant I'd be lodging some complaints .

Good grief! - that's appalling!

I might be missing the point but why would you buy a house with a sitting tenant ? Or is the landlord expecting the tenant to die and leave the property vacant ?

selling a property is one of the few reasons you can ask a tenant to leave ,you cant just throw people out nowadays even if they owe you a fortune in rent

Harrigan, neither senario, we arn't and he isn't.

As I understand it, tenants don't even have to agree to any viewings.

This sounds an awful scenario - poor tenants.

How awful for the tenant,are we sure that the couple on the sofa with the dog lived there or where they in the property to support the poorly lady,either way it is a dispicable arrangement the things EAs will do to secure the sale of a property,open house viewing is getting more and more popular but most EA stagger the viewing times and arrange for any offers to be presented over the few days following.

That's awful. Whatever the reason for the mass viewings, things should have been organised in such a way as to be sympathetic to the tenants.

Horrible but - is it possible the owner has been trying to get these tenants to leave and all attempts have failed, hence putting the house up for sale.
Don't shoot me please - I've seen some awful landlords, some excellent landlords. Same with tenants, some of who deliberately destroy fixtures and fittings then leave owing months of rent.

All other matters aside, can you be sure the house is being sold with vacant possession? Can you be sure that the tenants would have left, and you wouldn't have an awful lot of headaches gaining possession?

Having said that, I have a rental property and I wouldn't dream of expecting my tenants to put up with viewings in what is their home - sundry strangers traipsing all over it - until after they would have left.

We were once shown round a house by the owner(?) who showed us a bedroom with someone asleep in bed. He said it was his mother and she was dying. Embarrassed and shocked to say the least.

Iam - if the owner is having problems getting the tenants to leave, surely he has legal avenues to go through. What he is doing at the moment with an apparently seriously ill woman could be construed as harassment under the law. It sounds awful but of course we don't know the full story

i certainky would not rent from someone like this.Shows no respect for human dignity!!!! Shocking behaviour IMO

I suppose that they may have thought it would cause less disruption for the tenants to have all the viewings done at once rather than people turning up day after day.

This must be more common than I thought. I went to view a house with DS and DIL and the DD of the house was in bed but lady told us to feel free to walk into the teenager's room. We later heard that lady was selling under duress from husband as they were in the process of divorcing and she hoped the house wouldn't sell.

No but you can just give them 2 months notice! We are tenants - we have never owed rent, and have cared for properties, as they are our home but 3 times we have been told to leave our home - imagine how that feels!!!

clearly awful situation. it does sound like the landlord is trying to get the tenants out. personally no matter how good the selling price was it would put me off buying. the tenants could cause problems in the sale going through.

I hate these mass viewings. Estate agents like them because it saves them time showing people round individually. The tenants must also have felt very uncomfortable but obviously the landlord and agents couldn't care less. If I was told tenants lived there, I would want to know if the property is being sold with vacant possession. I have heard that you can evict tenants if the property has a mortgage but am not sure if there are still categories of tenants who have a permanent right to remain.

i think everyone should boycott mass viewings. it is only to encourage high bidding from buyers and completely unnecessary. i think the agent and landlord behaved poorly and unprofessionally

It sounds horrendous for the poorly tenant but maybe they felt more comfortable having one mass viewing than a series of viewings. If it was a lazy estate agent that would be unconscionable.
It may be that the cancer is terminal and the lady in question is going into a hospice so will not be able to pay the rent. I would have thought it might have been kinder to wait but it could be the majority of the Landlord's income.
We had a lady who suffered from cancer who owed an extortionate amount of rent even though she had been paid it by the benefits office. She would lie through her back teeth over anything and by the time she left, of her own accord because she had so many creditors knocking the door, we were so relieved and happy to overlook outstanding rent. I'd have paid to get rid of her but her cancer inhibited us because we didn't want to be unkind. It's a pity she didn't have the same values.
If you are renting, it might be better to avoid this landlord unless you get to the bottom of the seemingly unkind behaviour.

When I viewed this house, it gradually dawned on me that the walls were covered in pictures of the current owner naked. I didn't know where to look.

I think for agents to take viewings when people are in bed is despicable. It just is.

How awful for everyone. The tenants and prospective buyers must have all felt awkward and embarrassed. The only time I have seen or heard of these open day viewings is on a Phil Spencer programme were people are really struggling to sell. Still remember someone on this programme opening someone's wardrobe and looking through their things (so rude as freestanding) and not one that would be part of fixtures and fittings.

What a dreadful way to behave towards the people in the sitting room, the sick one, and not to mention the poor nervous dog. The behaviour of that landlord is almost feudal, and I thought there were rules about viewings when properties were occupied by tenants. They must have all felt that they had suffered some kind of assault with all those people milling about, gawping and trampling through their home. The Estate Agent and the landlord would get an email or phone call from us if we were presented with that sort of viewing. Totally unacceptable and unkind behaviour.